A total of 27 members of the UC San Diego men's and women's swimming and diving teams arrived in Ohio on Sunday, March 9, for the 2014 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships, which run Wednesday through Saturday, March 12-15, at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva. Geneva is approximately 45 miles east of Cleveland.

The Tritons enter the meet as the champions of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference (PCSC), with the men and women both having won their sixth consecutive PCSC crowns in La Mirada last month. The UCSD women, ranked fifth nationally in the NCAA Division II, finished 8-6 in dual meets this season. The ninth-ranked Triton men completed their dual schedule at 3-4.

CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE All sessions of the NCAA Division II Championships can be watched live online, free of charge, at NCAA.com. Live results will also be available here. All links can be found in the Schedule/Results section on the swimming and diving page. In addition, tune in to Championship Central at UCSDtritons.com for behind-the-scenes coverage and follow the Tritons on Twitter (@UCSDtritons, @UCSDSwimDive) for photos, results and more.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW UCSD co-head coaches Matt Macedo and Corrie Falcon have 12 swimmers on the women's side and 11 men, alongside three divers for the men and one for the women, at their disposal this week at the NCAA Championships. The Triton men were seventh in 2013 after back-to-back finishes as NCAA Division II runners-up in 2011 and 2012 behind nine-time defending national champion Drury University of Springfield, Mo.

On the women's side, UCSD has finished in the top four in all 13 years since moving to Division II, with 11 third-place efforts, including five straight, and two fourths. Drury took the 2009, 2010 and 2011 national titles before being edged by a mere point, 497-496, by Wayne State of Detroit, Mich., in 2012, but then won it again a year ago.

There are two former national champions among the Tritons' group in Ohio this year. They are Nicholas Korth, who won the 200 breaststroke as a freshman in 2011, and fellow senior co-captain Anji Shakya, who placed first in the 200 freestyle as a junior in 2013.

The Tritons, along with Queens and Grand Valley State, have the third-largest men's swimming presence in Geneva, behind Drury (15) and Florida Southern (12). A total of 157 men's swimmers represent 31 different programs.

UCSD women's swimming has the second-largest contingent on hand, falling one short of the 13 sent by Drury. Queens (11), West Chester (11) and Wingate (11) provided double-digit entries as well.

CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM A total of 42 events will be contested in Ohio, with 21 women's and 21 men's. That includes five relays and two diving events on each side. Women's races take place before the men's. Preliminaries begin each morning at 7:30 a.m. PT, with the evening finals sessions getting underway at 3 p.m. PT.

The first Tritons competing this week are Luke Calkins, Adam Springer, Garet Webster and Allyson Cohen, as the pre-qualification diving meet takes place on Tuesday, March 11, to determine who moves on to the main draw on the two springboards. The action begins at 7 a.m. PT with the women's three-meter and men's one-meter. The women's one-meter and men's three-meter dive-ins commence at 11 a.m. PT.

The swimming starts on Wednesday with the 1000 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 medley relay. Nicholas Korth is a contender in the 50 free as the fifth seed (20.20). Kyle Nadler is seeded seventh in the 1000 (9:13.52) and will swim in the final, fastest heat just after 3 p.m. PT. Thursday's slate is made up of the 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and 400 medley relay. Anji Shakya will defend her national title in the 200 free that evening, coming in as the No. 6 seed (1:49.79). Zach Yong is in the 400 IM as the fifth seed, with a school-record mark of 3:53.65.

Friday will see Shakya back in the water with the top time nationally (4:48.56) by over three seconds in the 500 free, followed by the 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly and 800 free relay. Paul Li is the No. 2 seed in the 500 free (4:25.48), though West Chester freshman Victor Polyakov is a heavy favorite (4:20.26). Korth will contend as the No. 3 seed in the 100 breast (53.59). Naomi Thomas is seeded fifth in the 200 fly (2:01.83).

The NCAA Championships will come to a close on Saturday, March 15, with the 1650 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast and 400 free relay. Korth was the 2011 national champion in the 200 breast and will enter his final individual races as a college swimmer with the fastest time nationally (1:56.26). Sierra Gage is seeded eighth in the mile (16:59.31).

NATIONAL RANKINGS The third and final College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) NCAA Division II team rankings, voted on by seven CSCAA member coaches and one member of the media, were unveiled on Jan. 31. The UCSD women moved up to No. 5, while the men moved down a spot to No. 9. The second edition was released on Dec. 19, when the UCSD women appeared in a tie with Simon Fraser at No. 6, down from No. 2 on Nov. 15, while the men were No. 8, down from No. 6.

TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSNicholas Korth and Anji Shakya are the only two former national champions on the 2013-14 UCSD roster. Korth won the 200-yard breaststroke event as a freshman at the 2011 NCAA Division II Championships, while Shakya is the reigning champion in her specialty, the 200 freestyle. Both performances were in school-record times, with Korth having since lowered that standard in the 200 breast.

SHAKYA A STAR OF THE YEARAnji Shakya was recently named by the San Diego Hall of Champions as one of seven amateur Stars of the Year for 2013. The senior captain won her first individual national title in the 200 freestyle at the 2013 NCAA Division II Championships in Alabama last March. She was a six-time All-American in all during the four-day meet after having won three individual conference titles. Shakya was recognized at the 68th Annual Salute to the Champions at the Town and Country Convention Center on Feb. 13, though she was unable to attend as she was in La Mirada for the PCSC Championships.

KORTH COMPLETES UNDEFEATED DUAL SEASONNicholas Korth finished his senior campaign a perfect 12-0 in breaststroke races in dual meets. Korth was 7-0 in the 200 breast and 5-0 in the 100. Out of seven duals for the No. 9 UCSD men, he swept the two events five times. The only two occasions in which he didn't, was when he did not enter the 100, vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (10/26) in the season opener and vs. Grand Canyon (1/4).

STRONG DUAL SCHEDULE The UCSD men and women both faced challenging dual-meet schedules in 2013-14. Ten of the 14 opponents for the women (8-6) were members of the NCAA Division I, with former Division II rivals Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word in their first transition year. For the men (3-4), five of their seven dual meets were against Division I programs.

PAIR OF SWIMMER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR KORTH, SHAKYANicholas Korth and Anji Shakya have earned CollegeSwimming.com Counsilman Hunsaker Division II Swimmer of the Week recognition two times each this season. Korth won his first award on Nov. 15 after the dual at UC Santa Barbara, while Shakya was initially named on Nov. 27 following the Arena Invitational. The Triton duo then swept the Jan. 8 honors after a pair of home competitions to begin the new year. Korth and Shakya both have three career selections.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP Team captains for the 2013-14 season were voted on at the conclusion of the prior year, with the senior quartet of Nicholas Korth, Alex Merrill, Lindsay Oosterhouse and Anji Shakya earning that distinction. Korth and Shakya are two-time Triton captains. Korth is also the vice president of the Triton Athletes' Council (TAC) for this academic year as a two-time member of the TAC Executive Board.

STRONG STAFF ON THE POOL DECK The UCSD swimming and diving program has exceptional leadership with top competitive pedigree on the pool deck in 2013-14. Co-head coaches Corrie Falcon and Matt Macedo are in their third season in charge. Falcon was a two-year team captain and national runner-up at USC, while Macedo was a two-time national champion and 20-time All-American at California. Daniel Perdew, a five-time national champion as arguably the greatest sprinter in the history of the UCSD program, is in his third season on the staff at his alma mater and first as the top assistant. Diving coach Michelle Casillas was a multiple-time all-conference performer first at Nevada and then at Florida State. Finally, first-year assistants Emmett Walling and Jamie Saffer were standout swimmers at USC and Tennessee, respectively.

POOL RECORD FOR JACOBS On Jan. 4, a total of 18 Canyonview Aquatic Center records were broken with Grand Canyon and the women of Boise State and San Diego State, all Division I programs, on hand. One of those marks came courtesy of a Triton as freshman Julian Jacobs' 50-yard backstroke split to lead off the meet-opening 200 medley relay timed 23.86 and eclipsed the previous Canyonview record of 24.67 set by former UC Davis standout and 2012 U.S. Olympian Scott Weltz. Weltz achieved that time on Nov. 5, 2006, making it tied for the oldest remaining Canyonview standard.

LAST TIME IN THE WATER The UCSD men and women both cruised to a sixth straight PCSC crown in La Mirada, Feb. 12-15. Paul Li won all three individual events he swam finals in (500 free, 400 IM, 20 free), earning a maximum 96 points toward the Tritons' team total and being named the Male Swimmer of the Meet. He subsequently garnered Star of the Month recognition from the San Diego Hall of Champions for February. Li's first-place time in the 500 free (4:25.48) was a new school record.

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